Floor numbering
Floor numbering is the numbering scheme used for a building's floors. Numeric floor numbering schemes North American scheme In this scheme, the "first" floor is the floor at the ground level and the floor above it is the "second" floor. On some buildings, floors below ground floor are usually marked as basement (B) but some buildings also marked these floors as minus (-), for example; minus one (-1), minus two (-2) and so on. In few cases, the floors below ground floor are marked as lower ground (LG) or sub basement (SB) though this is uncommon. This scheme is used in some part of the United States and Canada, some Latin American countries, Russia and former Soviet Union countries, China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau), South Korea, Japan, Singapore and parts of Indonesia. USSR Variant Buildings in former USSR countries (including those in Europe such as Estonia) often use the North American scheme, but call the storey immediately below the ground floor "0'". European scheme In this scheme, the "first storey" or "first floor" is the level above ground level. The floor at ground level is usually called "'0" or substituted by the first letter of the local language's word for ground (i.e. "G'" in Britain or "'E" for Erdegeschoss in Germany) This scheme is used in the United Kingdom, most European countries, Mexico, Cambodia and former British colonies. There is a set standard as per EN81-70 for the ground floor button to be protrude a different amount & have green coloration to indicate that this is the floor with the quickest route to the outside of the building. This is not always the case, for example in lifts which don't go to the ground floor. The similar term also apply for the "Design Manual: Barrier Free Access 2008 (設計手冊：暢通無阻的通道 2008, BFA 2008)" standard by Buildings Department in Hong Kong, China. A "star" (☆''') is often included in the ground floor button to indicate a main entrance level. Common non-numeric or mixed floor numbering systems These are some common non-numeric or mixed floor numberings used in buildings as well as elevators. Minus (-) Floor numbers starting with '''Minus (-) are used to depict floors below ground floor 長沙灣長發大廈通力升降機. Sometimes minus is used as a substitution to basement (B), lower ground (LG) or sub basement (SB). Minus is also commonly used in buildings with destination dispatch elevators. Whitebuttonsblackpanel.png|Kone Elevator button with showing "Minus" for basement floor. 1983 OTIS LEXAN CAR 2.jpg|OTIS Elevator button with showing "Minus" for basement floor. "Additional" (A) levels Floor numbers ending with A''' are usually used to depict an extra floor or split levels, such as 3A being an additional third floor. It is also used to depict an apartment floor. Sometimes, it can be used to omit unlucky floor numbers. Mitsubishi CBV-C210 Panel.jpg|A Mitsubishi elevator with an extra third floor. File:1980s_Schindler_FS.jpg|A Schindler elevator with an extra second and fouth floor. 1983 Schindler M Line Button Car Touch HK Freight.jpg|A Schindler elevator with an extra eight, eighteen, twenty-seventh and thirty-third floor. "Basement" (B) '''B also known as basement, usually used to depict floors below ground floor. It is widely used in most buildings. An additional basement below is often marked as LB while above is UBFujitec Hydraulic Lift/Elevator 2 富士達油壓式升降機2. UB 'may also means an extra "basement" floor above the basement floor. Meaning of basement in foreign countries by their native language: *'K: Keller (German), Kelder (Dutch/Estonian), Kælder (Danish), Kjeller (Norwegian), Källare (Swedish), Kellari (Finnish) *'T: '''Tiefgeschoss (German "Deep floor") *'S''' (Spain): Sótano * SS '''(France): Sous-sol (Portuguese): Subssolo * '''P:' '''Porão (Portugese), Piwnica (Polish) *'U(G)' (Germany): Untergeschoss ("Underfloor") *'П': Подземный (Russian), Падвал (Belarussian), Підвал (Ukrainian) * 'М (Bulgaria): Мазе * '''υ (Greece): υπόγειο * A''' (Hungary): Alagsor ("Basement") * '''P (Hungary): Pince ("Cellar"), may even be placed below the A''' floor. * '''S (Czech Republic and Slovakia): Suterén KutaParadiso floorbuttons.JPG 1970s Mitsubishi hall floor indicator mahjong.jpg|Mitsubishi elevator with basement floor (B). Bc27.jpg|Fujitec elevator with two basement floors (B1 and B2). Mid-1990s Mitsubishi car station HK.jpg|Mitsubishi elevator with two basement floors (LB and UB). Another 1960s Mitsubishi button.jpg|A 1960s Mitsubishi elevator with an upper base floor. "Ground Floor" (G) G''' or '''GF usually means ground floor. This floor numbering is widely used in buildings using European scheme. In some case, the letter G may be replaced into zero (0) in Europe or one (1) in America. A "five-pointed star" (☆') is often included in the ground floor button to indicate a main entrance level. In foreign countries, ground floor is usually referred to by their native language, for example: *'BG (Dutch): begane grond (lit. "walked-upon ground") * BV '''(Swedish): Bottenvåning ("ground floor") * '''D (Indonesia): dasar/lantai dasar ("ground floor") *'E' (Germany): Erdgeschoss ("ground floor"), (Swedish): Entrévåning ("Entrance floor") *'PB' (Spain): planta baja or planta baixa ("bottom floor") *'PT' (Italy): piano terra (lit. "ground floor") *'RC' (France): rez-de-chaussée ("street level"), (Portuguese): rés-do-chão ("ground floor")Macau, China also used be this type. However, they changed to G''' for the buildings built after 2000s. * 'S '(Danish): Stuen ("ground floor") * 'T '(Brazil): Térreo (Ground) * '''P,' PK '(Finland) Pohjakerros ("ground floor") * כ''' (Israel): כניסה ("Entrance") * '''ק (Israel): קרקע ("Ground") * ι''' (Greece): ισόγειο ("ground floor") * '''F (Hungary): Földszint ("ground level") * P''' (Czech Republic and Slovakia): Přízemí (Czech), Prízemie (Slovak) Sometimes '''G can be more than one floor (e.g. G1 葵涌華基工業大廈 第一期 貨用升降機 and G2 Toshiba Traction Freight Elevator with manual door at Block 1, Vigor Industrial Building (Phase 1), Kwai Chung, New Territories, Hong Kong). or sub ground (SG)葵涌金威工業大廈第二期力建貨用升降機. Schindler_Linea_300_panel.JPG|Schindler Linea 100 fixtures set with "ground floor" button. Noticed a "star" which mean the main entrance level (Mandatory requirement in BFA 2008Design Manual - Barrier Free Access 2008, Division 19 - Lifts). File:Unknown_Generic_car_station_button_Toshiba_2.jpg|Toshiba unknown generic fixtures set with "ground floor" button. Noticed a "star" which mean the main entrance level (Mandatory requirement in BFA 2008Design Manual - Barrier Free Access 2008, Division 19 - Lifts). Dewhurst US90-15 HK (Main).jpg|Dewhurst US90-15 "ground floor" button in Hong Kong. Notice that button have a "star" beside the G, which means "ground floor" is a main entrance level (Mandatory requirement in BFA 2008). Kone new large buttons.jpg|Dewhurst "New" US85 buttons with "ground floor" button. The "ground floor" words has etched on the car operating panel below the floor button. Floor_designator_HK_2000s.jpg|A "ground floor" floor designator‎‎ installed on the elevator's outside door jambs. File:TKE Focus pushbuttons.JPG|ThyssenKrupp Focus fixtures with independent "star" button. When pressed, the floor zero (0) button (on the other words, "ground floor") will also illuminated. R-Series panel HK.jpg|Schindler Elevator with digital indicator which showing "zero" for ground floor (as the older 7-segmented digital indicator cannot display English letter). 1994 Hitachi 85 Hall.jpg|Hitachi Elevator with digital indicator which showing "zero" for ground floor (as the older 7-segmented digital indicator cannot display English letter). LaPorte, IN Thyssenkrupp Hydraulic Elevator in Outlook Cove (South Side)-0|ThyssenKrupp Aurora fixtures with a "star" beside the G on the braille plate, which means "ground floor" is a main entrance level. 1995 Mitubishi Callstation SquareButton.jpg.jpg 1983 OTIS LEXAN CAR 2.jpg|OTIS Elevator button with showing "Zero" for ground floor. Toshiba G2.jpg|Toshiba elevator with two ground floor (G2). "Lower Ground Floor" (LG) LG usually means lower ground, which is an extra "ground" floor below the main ground floor, as the building built on the mountain. In some cases, lower ground can be more than one floor, but usually not more than five lower ground floors (e.g. LG1 and LG2). Example of buildings with more than one lower ground floor are Festival Walk in Hong KongSchindler Hydraulic Lift/Elevator 2 迅達油壓式升降機2 and ifc Mall in Shanghai2011 Recording - Schindler MRL Elevators at ifc Mall, Shanghai. The other variant of the floor LG maybe substituted as floor '-0'. *'MF' (Hungarian): mélyföldszint (lit. "lower ground level"), may also designate "upper ground level". In cases of ambiguity, one of the two ground floors (in most cases, the one with the entrance) is marked as F''', the other one is the '''MF floor. Toshiba HungFaiHouse CatStation 2.jpg|A Toshiba elevator with both "lower ground floor" (LG) and "upper ground floor" (UG). as the building with two entrances located in two different floors. ThyssenKrupp MRL Hall LED floor indicator.jpg File:1992_Mitsubishi_handicap_car_station_HK.jpg|Mitsubishi elevator with three lower ground floors (LG, LG1 and LG2). Kone fail indicator.jpg|Kone fireman's elevator with one lower ground floor. However, the floor indicator on this floor cannot show the "L" word. OTIS HallStation ShuiCheunOEstate.jpg|Otis elevator with two lower ground floors (LG1 and LG2). A set of "lower ground floor two" floor designator‎‎s also installed on the elevator's outside door jambs. "Upper Ground Floor" (UG) UG means upper ground which is an extra "ground" floor above the main ground floor. Sometimes UG can be more than one floor, but usually not more than two upper ground floors (e.g. UG1 葵涌華基工業大廈TOSHIBA拉閘貨用升降機 and UG2 Toshiba Traction Elevator at Block 1, Vigor Industrial Building (Phase 1), Kwai Chung, New Territories, Hong Kong). *'MF' (Hungarian): magasföldszint (lit. "upper ground level"), used together with F''' for the lower ground floor. KDS300-AUS Bekizaar-SBY.jpg 70s Mitsubishi customized indicator.jpg Sabiem Call Sation PB5 R125.JPG File:Kone_MSeries_Call_U0.jpg|Kone M-series Elevator with digital indicator which showing "U zero" for upper ground (as the older 7-segmented digital indicator cannot display some of English letter). "Lobby" or "Level" (L) '''L or LBToshiba Elevators @ Centurion Hotel Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan usually means lobby or level, e.g. level 1 is marked as L1. In some buildings with an additional lobby or certain floor below the ground floor, it is usually marked as LL (lower lobby or lower level). As same as "ground floor" (G'''), a "star" (☆) is often included in the lobby button for the elevator installed in the America to indicate a main entrance level. Another variant of the "lobby" is '''UL, means upper level, common in 2 floor buildings like shopping malls, department stores, and supermarkets, but can also stand for upper lobby, which is an extra "lobby" floor above the main lobby floor. An example of a building that uses UL floor is Interchange 21, Bangkok【R01】Kone Elevators @ Interchange 21, Bangkok「Front Carpark」. A third variant of the "lobby" is ML, which means main level or middle level, common in 3 floor buildings like shopping malls, department stores, and supermarkets, usually the floor between LL and UL. An example of a building that uses ML is the Bridgewater Commons shopping center in Bridgewater, NJ. In very rare case, L 'can be refer to lower floor. An example of the building that uses L as a lower floor is The Phyll Sukhumvit 54, Bangkok.2015 Schindler 5500 Lift/Elevator @ The Phyll Sukhumvit 54, Onnut in Bangkok, Thailand *'FO (Hungarian): fogadószint (lit. "receiving level", rarely used) LG black buttons ARS.JPG OTIS Series 1 button panel.jpg GoldStar floor buttons Hotel Ciputra Jakarta 2.jpg 1990s Mitsubishi car station Standard.jpg|Mitsubishi elevator with two lower ground floors (L1 and L2). 1992 Mitsubishi Callstation SquareButton.jpg.jpg|Mitsubishi elevator with one lower ground floor (L1). 2012 E-Vision Sands Cotai Central.jpg|Schindler elevator with two lower ground floor (L2). 1980s GoldStar Hall different Hall.jpg|A GoldStar elevator with six levels (L1 to L6). GEC 1999 FE.jpg|A GEC elevator with four levels (L1 to L4). It doesn't serve these floors unless the fire service mode active. "Mezzanine Floor" (M) M''' or '''MZ is commonly known as mezzanine floor, which is an intermediate floor between main floors of a building. A lower mezzanine is often marked as LMBUSY Hyundai MRL Elevators at Lippo Mall Kemang, Jakarta, or a mezzanine ground is often marked as MG though this is uncommon. In rare cases, it may refer to main floor.Examples are some malls near BTS Skytrain in Bangkok that have a skywalk between the station and the mall. *'FE '''or' 1/2''' (Hungarian): félemelet (lit. "half floor") *'Z': (German: Zwischengeschoss ): "Between floor" Flat KDS 300 round buttons_HKK.JPG Schindler STEP EB111.jpg|Schindler Elevator with digital indicator which showing MG for mezzanine ground floor. "Podium" or "Parking" level (P) P''' may refer to as '''parking (for multi-purpose building with the floors for car park or parking garage), pool (in some hotels), podium (the leisure spaces in the housing estate, but built above ground floor), or platform (usually appeared in train station) floor. Multiple parking floors are usually marked as P1, P2 and so on. CP '''may also be used, meaning "car park" in British English (meaning is equivalent to "parking" in American English)(EPIC MOTOR)尖沙咀華懋廣場(停車場範圍)東洋油壓升降機, or '''PL, meaning podium level, parking level or pool level. Even PD is also used as podium. The another variant of the "podium" is AP, means Appearance Platform. If the train or metro station have two platform floors, they will be marked as UP for upper platform and LP for lower platform港鐵旺角站富士達(FUJITEC)油壓升降機(重拍) (This already extincted as the elevator replaced to the Kone TranSys elevator in 2014). File:TOSHIBA_Vandal-resistantfixtures_3.JPG.jpg|A Toshiba elevator with podium (P) floor. 1995 Mitubishi Callstation SquareButton.jpg.jpg|A Mitsubishi elevator with podium (P) floor. Linea100 Black Internal Ind.png|A Schindler elevator indicator showing parking level one (P1). 1980s GoldStar Hall different Hall.jpg|A GoldStar elevator with podium (P) floor. GEC 1999 FE.jpg|A GEC elevator with podium (P) floor. File:ThyssenKrupp_appearance_Paltform.jpg|A thyssenkrupp elevator with appearance podium (AP) floor. "Roof" floor ® R''' is usually known as '''roofToshiba Traction Elevator at Car Park, Hang Tsui Court, Chai Wan, Hong Kong or rooftop. Sometimes RF may also be possible to be used. RG used in Roof Garden. * D: 'German (Dach) Express YueOnCourt.jpg|A Express elevator indicator showing roof floor ®. Schindler 3300AP FIGS CarFloorIndicator Linea WDistrict.png|A Schindler elevator indicator showing roof floor (RF). File:M_Line_hall_panel_HK.jpg|A Schindler elevator indicator showing roof garden (RG). 2013 Toshiba FireSwitch.JPG|A Toshiba elevator fireman's sign showing roof floor ®. Other non-numeric floor numberings *'B: Basement, used exclusively in Germany by the department store chain "Galeria Kaufhof" *'C': ConcourseOTIS Traction Elevator at Po Wah Buiding, Central, Hong KongMitsubishi Traction with Semi-auto door elevator in Lee Shing Building, Prince Edward, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong, used in some train stations and double deck (lower deck) elevator or Casino, in Casinos. *'D': Deck, the alternative word for the podium or footbridge金鐘政府總部行人天橋FUJITEC升降機. Usually make those not to be confused with the parking levels. *'F'/'FB': FootbridgeNewly Installed Otis MRL Traction Elevator旺角橫跨亞皆老街及塘尾道行人天橋SIGMA升降機葵涌興芳路行人天橋Sigma無機房升降機, used in some pedestrians footbridge, but it can also stands for Facilities【R01】Mitsubishi Traction Lifts/Elevators @ Grande Centre Point Ploenchit, Bangkok . *'H': Helipad or other special floor. *'MTR': the English abbreviation of [[wikia:c:hkrail:港鐵|'M'''ass '''T'ransit R'ailway]] in Hong Kong, China. For the floor in the adjacent building directly connected to the MTR station九龍塘又一城Schindler升降機In Chinese, it usually called "地鐵樓層" or "港鐵層" (both are called as "MTR" or "MTR floor").. *'PH: Penthouse floor.Hitachi Traction Elevator at Ka Bo Building, North Point, Hong Kong *'Pk': Park, used for the public leisure spaces but built above ground floor. *'S' or SL: Street level, used in some train stations, or Subway, for some pedestrian tunnels.旺角彌敦道及弼街交界行人隧道KONE升降機 But it can also stand for Spa.【R01】Hitachi Elevators @ Siam@Siam Design Hotel Bangkok「Main」 *'T': Terrace, used in some apartment buildings. It can also be referred to Transfer for railway stations. *'TK': German - Tief-Keller (Deeper basement) Sub-basement *'U': Upper floor. Otis elevator (Dewhurst US85 Braille).jpg|Dewhurst button with showing "C" for Concourse. Installed in the Otis elevator. It now extincted as the elevator replaced by Kone in 2018. File:UpperNgauTauKokEstate_LT_Toshiba_Hall.jpg|Toshiba elevator floor indicator with showing "FB" for Footbridge. Domain Otis MTR floor.jpg|Otis elevator floor indicator and the floor designators with showing "MTR" for the floor in the directly connected to the MTR station. File:Schindler_PH.jpg|Schindler elevator floor indicator with showing "PH" for Penthouse. See also *Unlucky floor numbers in elevators *Floor designators Category:Elevator Category:Escalator